Dates

• Existence: 1915-1999

Biography

John William Graham was born in the West Union Hospital in West Union, Fayette County, Iowa on August 2, 1915. He attended West Union High School and worked on summer weekends at the Graham and Schenk Lumberyard, where he earned $1 a day. After graduating in 1932 he attended Upper Iowa University where he lettered in football. He graduated in 1936 with a major in biological sciences with minors in speech and political science. He tried to enlist in the military but was sent home to be a farmer, but then was drafted after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He entererd the service in February 1942 at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. After training in Wichita Falls, Texas, Salt Lake City, Utah, Tucson, Arizona, Wendover, Utah, Pueblo, Arizona, and Pocatello, Idaho he was posted to Italy, where he arrived on April 17,1944. He served at Pantanella Hill until late May, 1945, where he worked on the ground crew for several planes. Here he lost two fingers when the crew cleaning the gun on the plane next to him accidentally discharaged a bullet left in a gun. He had achieved the rank of Master Sargeant. In late May 1945 he was assigned to the Air Transport Command and sent to Trinidad. On September 26, 1945, he was discharged at Jeffereson Barracks in Missouri. He took a bus from there to Cedar Rapids. From there he hitchhiked to West Union. On December 20, 1947 he married home economics teacher Frances Ruth Hill at her parents' home in Coggon. In 1945, Graham began farming, a profession he followed for more than thirty-five years, on a farm north of Hawkeye, Iowa. He raised beef, hogs, and crops. He loved horses and raised them as a hobby. Traveller, his Tennessee walking horse, was a favorite. He also drove a school bus for the North Fayette County Community School for 19 years, where his first passengers were his own three children. John and Frances volunteered at the Historical Center, where Frances was a researcher and administrator and John was a historical resource and the local storyteller. John served on the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service, Fayette County Cattlemen, and Hawkeye Cooperative, as well as being a member of the Farm Bureau, a Bethel Township Trustee, a Bethel Township school director, and a long-time member of the Hawkeye United Methodist Church. He was also a member and a board membr of Whistlin' Bit Saddle Club. After retiring from farming he was active in the Fayette County Helper Club and Historical Society. John William Graham died at home on October 29, 1999.

Citation:

Author: Jacque Roethler

Citation:

Entry in ancestry.com by his daughter-in-law, a copy of which is included in the collection.

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